In the premiere episode, “Pilot,” Rayna learns that her record label wants her to tour as the opening act for newcomer Juliette Barnes, and when she refuses, the stage is set for the ultimate power struggle for popularity. Complicating matters, Lamar’s drive for power results in backing Teddy in a run for Mayor of Nashville, against Rayna’s wishes.

Executive producers of “Pilot” are R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue,” “The War Room”), Callie Khouri (“Thelma & Louise”), who is also creator, and Steve Buchanan. T Bone Burnett is the executive music producer. “Pilot” was written by Callie Khouri and directed by R.J. Cutler. The series is produced by Lionsgate, ABC Studios and Gaylord Entertainment.

Thoughts while watching: We start with a song from Queen of Country Reba…er, Rayna. Nice.
We meet the good girl ingénue and her boyfriend. She’s not all glammed up.
Hayden is extremely estranged from her mother for some reason.
I prefer Hayden’s song to Connie’s.
“He’s always there when he needs you.” – More parental issues.
“Boys and buses got a lot in common. They both pick up speed when you
try to stop them…no use in chasing boys and buses.” – I like this one
too.
Her daughters love Juliette too. Ouch, though it’s funny.
Deacon’s boring. What is “alt-country” exactly?
So, 2 love triangles.
I’m seeing Hayden as a countrier Claire Bennet, esp the earlier rendition as the spoiled cheerleader.
This 2nd Rayna song’s a bit boring. I prefer the Already Gone one. So
Rayna is definitely not supposed to be completely Good to Juliette’s
Evil.
Well-acted crying by Hayden.
Oh, boring political story. It’s like the husband thing on Smash.
The good girl ingenue’s kinda boring.
Rayna’s fight with her dad is quite nice.
Scarlett’s a better singer than actress certainly; the duet’s quite great. Love Civil Wars. I wonder if it’ll do well at all on iTunes.

Overall, good and promising, but not yet great, which makes it better
than any of the pilots I’ve seen this season. And the songs feel much
more like legitimate singers with solid songs, unlike Glee or Smash. I
look forward to the next episode, mostly for Connie/Hayden (which was my
reason for watching) but also partially for more singing from Scarlett. Overall, I would probably give the pilot a B.

I absolutely LOVED this pilot. But then again, I love country music and Connie Britton, so I was pre-programmed to enjoy it anyway. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season plays out.

Between the blonde hair, the huge pop crossover appeal, and the “Thank God for autotune” line, I could’ve sworn they modeled the Juliet character after Taylor Swift.

The duet at the end (with Scarlett and that bartender guy) was spine-tingling. Those 2 voices together have a Civil Wars-ish vibe, and I can’t wait to hear more.

One of the things I loved most about this pilot is that it immediately gave depth to both Rayna and Juliet. Some shows — Glee, for example — tend to milk the villain for so many episodes before they provide a backstory. How many episodes into season 1 did they give viewers an insight into how Sue Sylvester became the way she is. Took a while. Ryan Murphy & company was fine giving Sue an endless supply of zingers without any discernible depth or character development.

With Nashville, they could’ve easily painted Rayna as the oppressed heroine and Juliet as the shallow villain. That’s certainly how they made the show seem in the trailer. But they touched on Rayna’s past mistakes & gave us a glimpse into Juliet’s rocky relationship with her mother.

Interesting pilot. Solid set-up for the season’s major plotlines. I hope this kicks butt, ratings-wise.

I really wanted to be crossed with this show. From that basic ass trailer and hearing the critics cream themselves, I really wanted to be cynical. I wanted to say that just b/c it had Connie Britton in it, it was an automatic pass for them b/c that wouldn’t be the case if it were anyone else in the lead role. The show would’ve got the typical “it’s a guilty pleasure s*@!#” (soap is a four lettter word to these people). But since soaps are something I enjoy and I think Connie Britton is the truth, I came in w/the expectation of this being good. And you know what, I liked this a lot. Even though I think my opinion of critics not paying this any mind w/o Britton in the lead role is accurate, I can’t imagine anyone else in this role. At the Emmys, I was clutching my pearls w/the look she was rocking, but I was proven wrong. She captures that country music diva essence effortlessly. Co-lead Hayden Panettiere is someone I have loved since Remember the Titans, so I always root for her (even though she is an alleged C yoU Next Tuesday and I stopped w/Heroes after the first season). I thought she played everything expectedly w/the generic characterization/writing, but she stunned me w/the meth addicted mother plot. She so much more than a pretty face and she held her own opposite Connie, so I am fully invested in that rivalry. As for the rest of the cast . . . they only ones that popped were the aspiring male singer, the radio host, and Rayna’s sister. The husband and bandmate are blandsies, I don’t buy Jonathan Jackson as this bad boy for one minute, that Australian girl’s country accent was Anna Paquin level of offensive, and Powers Boothe was ridiculous.

It’s Connie and Hayden’s show and I have found another network drama to add to my rotation.

The reviews are incredibly promising so far, with an 86 on
Metacritic (when no other new show even has a 75), with the 18 reviews bottomed out with a pair of 70s (B-). In
terms of network shows since fall 06 (since that’s the first season the
site started having relatively full coverage of shows) with at least
10+ reviews (for a good sampling size), only 8 have gotten at least an
80 on Metacritic. Nashville has 5 100s; comparatively: Pushing Daisies 6 100s/30 total reviews, Lost IV 4/12, Pushing Daisies II 4/14, The Nine 5/29, Modern Family 4/27, 30 Rock III 3/17, Ted II 2/11, Reaper 2/27.

You may notice that on that list are 3 ABC shows that lasted between
half a season and 1.5 seasons. Hopefully Nashville doesn’t join them and
instead is more like Lost & Modern Family, in length.

And against shows from last season in Drama contention: Breaking Bad 96,
Homeland 91, Justified 89, Game of Thrones/Mad Men 88, Downton 84,
Boardwalk Empire 81. So if there’s any room for a new show, Nashville
definitely wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb (if reviews keep up).
Showtime’s new shows might or might not be contenders as well.

EW gives its first rave review of the season: Rarely does a pilot present a world as completely as Nashville does in its first hour…Khouri also seems to have insight into what
makes the music industry in the title city distinct from the ones in Los
Angeles and New York…rich texture…The choice by Nashville‘s executive music producer, T Bone Burnett, is perfect…The wobbly aspect of Nashville is a
political theme.” – Yes the last part is true so far. Also, I didn’t know Oscar/Grammy winner Burnett was in charge, and the husband of the creator; I guess he wants that Emmy!

Washington Post: Perfect twang…Easily this season’s most promising debut, “Nashville” has the potential
to be the perfect drama, even for people who don’t give a spit about
country music…expert musical choices…top-notch direction…strong sense of grace and heartache…far and away the
loveliest thing you’ll see on TV this year. I half expect that
“Nashville” may well be lured down the path of eye-rolling melodrama
soon enough (like NBC’s “Smash”), but until then, I’d like to bask in
its tender perfection.

San Jose: Britton
is a perfect fit…irresistible blend of soapy shenanigans, domestic tension, political
intrigue and catchy tunes. If it can stay on track, I suspect viewers
everywhere will be singing its praises.

NY Post Good twang on all counts — writing, acting and original music…everything that the horribly written “Smash” could have been.

Connie Britton was amazing! then again it is not a big suprise ! I really think they shouldn’t have mixed the political aspects.I mean the husband doesn’t have to do a lot, just be on the background! it did look a bit forced

Connie Britton just won the Golden Globe for Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Unless they want to honor Claire Danes again (hardly happens in that category at the Globes), it’s Britton’s for the taking. TV vet on hot new network drama that’s receiving great reviews. Yeah…Globe is def hers. Who knows about the SAGs considering they are so out of the loop on the television side that it would be impossible for anyone to vote correctly. As for the Emmys, time will tell. I would like to think Britton is safe for the nomination as she has and will have several factors in her favor: Globe win (telling you it’s gonna happen), already Emmy nominated three consecutive years (2010 and 2011 for Friday Night Lights; 2012 for for AHS), a feeling of a due factor. With that said, not every Globe/Drama Actress winner gets in as of late {Keri Russell, Anna Paquin, Katey Sagal}. We shall see.

She’s not a lock for the Golden Globe. She wasn’t nominated for “Friday Night Lights” or “American Horror Story” even though the latter was well received. It was nominated for drama series and drama actress was rather weak (Mireille Enos, Madeleine Stowe, Callie Thorne).

Also, you leave out an extremely important factor: the ratings for the show. We’ll have a better picture tomorrow.

I didn’t enjoy this at all. After hearing that it got pretty good acclaim I expected much more from it. The writing was subpar and cheap at times. Countless characters no one gives a shit about, which reminded me of all the men on Desperate Housewives and Cougar Town. Panettiere was not good, her bitchy attitude towards Britton and her trying to seduce that guy was beyond unbelieveable. And Powers Boothe was ridiculous indeed.